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Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Darryl Enriquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the administration is expecting $400,000 over ten years from the contract with the proposed Waukesha baseball franchise.

Mayor Larry Nelson is pitching the new financial figures in the face of criticism of the baseball proposal.

“This will save Frame Park, the whole park, not just the baseball field, for the next 10 years,” Nelson said Monday.

I was not aware that Frame Park needed saving except from a mayor, a baseball developer and possibly the common council.

That $40,000/year is dependent on the league nearly selling out every game and somebody acquiring the naming rights for the stadium. $40,000 per year, for that parcel of land, is selling the city pretty cheap. If the goal is revenue, I suggest building condos instead.

I spoke with Alderman Eric Payne this evening. He had been 100% for the stadium, but the lack of return on the city's investment has given him pause.

He's not alone.

Christine Lufter, president of the Waukesha Taxpayers League, said she doubts the validity of the figures, which she called nothing more than a guess, and the promise of tax relief contained within them.

“We’ve seen these kind of proposal before, and they’ve never worked out,” Lufter said. “It always turns out that the shortfall comes back to the taxpayers.”

“A Stroll for Preservation” will take place in Frame Park Thurdsay evening at 7:00 PM. The general public is invited to come to Frame Park and show their desire to keep the park free from becoming a commercial development and preserve it for future generations.